Just a friendly reminder to take a few moments to decide if your archer will participate in the tournaments scheduled for the 2021 season.

Tournaments are happening at most of the other clubs in our area. Participation is always up to you and never mandatory. Keep in mind that most clubs will only permit 1 parent per archer at tournaments this season.
If you do choose to participate please add the times that you would like to shoot at each tournament to the TOURNAMENT SIGNUPS spreadsheet. With possible limits of participants at tournaments, we suggest that you pick at least 3 times per tournament.
I do expect to get invitations to the 1st tournament in the next 15 days.

You can sign up for the tournaments using this google form:

Tournament Signups

To sign up, find the row with your archer’s name, and for each tournament indicate your preferred line time by entering 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Keep them in the Gold

Okay, we’re finally rolling with the website for the 2020-2021 Falcon JOAD season. The official tournament calendar is available at this link:

Tournament Calendar

You can sign up for the tournaments using this google form:

Tournament Signups

To sign up, find the row with your archer’s name, and for each tournament indicate your preferred line time by entering 1, 2, 3, and 4. This year, Lisa brought her spread-sheeting skillz to bear, and your choices are automatically populated into the “request” forms for each shoot. That way, as soon as we get an invitation, we can send out the request with the latest updated requests! SO — you do not have to notify Lisa if you make any last minute changes.

At this time, most of the clubs ARE planning to hold tournaments. If you sign up and are awarded a spot, you are expected to attend. If you are not sure that you WANT to attend tournaments (because of Covid or for any other reason), then just don’t sign up. Of course, last minute health & safety regulation changes may affect whether any given tournament actually happens.

It seems like every website has a COVID-19 Update, and I did not want to be left out. So here you go.

The Shooter of the Year competition scheduled for March 28th has been postponed.

The PSAA State Indoor Championships scheduled for April 4th and 5th have been cancelled.

The JOAD State Championships scheduled for April 4th have been postponed. We share the venue with PSAA, which means that we’ll have to find a new venue to host the shoot. That’s not going to be easy, but we’ll see what happens.

Falcon Archers sent out the following update, which should have been emailed to all members. If you didn’t see it, contact me so I can figure out why.

In response to the public health concerns I am requesting your cooperation in implementing the following guidelines:
1) Until further notice Falcon Archers facilities are open to MEMBERS ONLY.  Sorry no guests.
2) Please exercise proper social distancing at the club. Six (6) feet is recommended.  We urge everyone to shoot outside weather permitting. 
3) Please sanitize all indoor surfaces you contact before leaving.  We will try to have cleaning supplies available in the clubhouse, but it might be advisable to bring your own sanitary wipes. 
4) Please limit work teams to small groups of 3 to 5.
5) These guidelines will be in effect until March 31st at which point the Board of Directors will reevaluate the situation. 

I do hope to begin outdoor shooting as a group on Monday evenings, once we get the “all clear”. In the mean time, remember that there is plenty of room to shoot outdoors at the club for solo practicing.

Our block of rooms for States is confirmed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites : Harrisburg W – Mechanicsburg   (2055 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17050)

The contracted rate of $94 is available for Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday. You can call the hotel at 717-732-8800, and give them our group code “FNJ”. Or try this booking link:

https://www.hiexpress.com/redirect?path=hd&brandCode=EX&localeCode=en& regionCode=1&hotelCode=MDTES&_PMID=99801505&GPC=FNJ&viewfullsite=true

Room Details:  2 Double Beds, Nonsmoking.  Includes:

• free high speed wireless internet access.
• sofa bed
• microwave and a fridge
• hotel pool

Make your reservation by March 22nd to be assured of this rate.

by Coach_Jeff

Time for our yearly update on tournament requirements and etiquette!  Good luck to all our archers this weekend at Beaver Valley Archers.

Things to Remember for Tournaments:

1. Wear black pants and your team shirt. If you run into an “emergency”, you can come dressed differently, just be sure to not wear camo or old jeans.
2. Arrive 30-45 minutes prior to shooting time.
   • You need time to check-in, put equipment together, & listen to announcements (announcements are typically 5-10 minutes prior to start of shooting).
3. Come prepared
   • Be sure you have all of your equipment and enough arrows (in your quiver, not your case).
     • 3 arrows are shot at a time, but you need to have extras in case of damage to, or loss of, vanes or nocks (4 arrows is a minimum; 6 or more is best).
     • ALL of an archer’s arrows MUST match and have their initials on the shafts!
   • Keep a pencil in your quiver!
4. Upon arrival, check in at the registration desk and put your equipment together.
   • You are to verify your merit class, age class, equipment, gender, target type/size.
   • Sometimes merit classes change often. If you jumped ANYTIME before the tournament (including at the last tournament) be sure to correct it at check-in.
   • If you are given your scorecard at the registration desk, you are to place it at the target.
5. Scoring:
   • NEVER mark or touch arrows or the target before they are ALL called and recorded!
   • No less than 3 archers may score together, typical group size is 4 archers.
   • Double scoring is always used.
   • Archers decide who calls, who scores, and who observes.
   • Make sure everyone is clear on whether each archer is scoring inner or outer 10 rings.
   • Do NOT copy scores! i.e. – scorekeepers must do their own addition.
   • Check scores after every end, before arrows are pulled (even if the other scorekeeper doesn’t want to do this, it is very important, and is a rule – insist on doing it).
   • Mark your arrows!
6. Line etiquette:
   • Step to the line within the allotted time (10 seconds)/
   • If you are late to the line, do not step to line if archer facing you is at full draw.
   • Take care not to bump those around you on the line.
   • Do NOT leave the line if a shooter immediately on either side of you is at full draw.
7. Verbal communication and coaching on the line is NOT permitted.
   Communication must occur behind the wait line while your line is not shooting.
8. If you are unable to shoot an arrow/end due to an equipment issue, notify a coach and/or line judge. (A line judge MUST be told – a coach can do this for you – BEFORE you miss your time to shoot).  If you are on the line, raise your hand to indicate a problem. The line judge will let you know to step off the line and seek help.
9. At completion of shooting, give both scorecards to the host club’s representative. They will return one of them to you.  Keep it for your records, but we will receive the scores from the host club in a few days.
10. Any questions or problems, ask a coach or line judge.

The tournament hosted by Falcon JOAD is scheduled for the weekend of January 17, 18, and 19. Our Falcon archers will shoot on Friday night (Jan 17th) at 6:30. We will have pizza at the club so they can eat before they shoot. Please do your best to be at the club by 6:00 so we can begin on time.

All archers need to bring a food donation for the shoot. The signup sheet for food donations is linked here (or you can get to it from the “Signups” tab in the Website.) Remember if you have two archers, please sign up for two items.

The signup sheet for Tournament Jobs is linked here (or you can get it from the “Current Year” tab in the Website). Choose a box and enter your name. The “50/50 tickets” job is for YOUTH members, aka the archers. All families are required to have at least one person work one of the other jobs on the sheet.

Our annual JOAD Holiday Party will be on December 21st. Here’s what you want to know!

• Practice will start at 9:00 as usual (so be there at 8:30 to set up your gear)
• After a few ends of practice, we’ll have some outrageously fun archery games!
• Kitchen items will be FREE, and everyone is encouraged to bring something to share. JOAD is buying the drinks.
• Use the Kitchen Signups page to let others know what you will bring. That way we don’t end up with 24 fruitcakes.